Suite open home where the heart is

Lynette Kalsnes, Tribune staff reporterCHICAGO TRIBUNE

It's not unusual to see a recently engaged couple cuddling on a chair. Unless that chair is shaped like a giant red heart, is set up on North Michigan Avenue amid a living room and is surrounded by a gawking crowd monitoring their movements.

This is not "Survivor," Chicago-style. Matthew McDowell and Eve Wolk of Andersonville are staying in a tent in Pioneer Court for three days as "living works of art" to raise money for hospitalized children. The exhibit is part of the Suite Home Chicago art furniture display.

From 8:30 a.m. Thursday until 6 p.m. Saturday, they will sleep, eat and play board games in "The Love Suite." The tent is just like home--if home consists solely of a living room and dining room furnished by IKEA and artist Georgan Damore's heart-shaped furniture.

"We wanted to create something that was a living, breathing thing instead of a static display," said IKEA store manager Ian Worling

Joining the engaged couple in the tent are Mary Jo and Nate Wyche Sr. of Hammond. The furniture store will donate $125 for each hour the couples watch a heart-shaped TV that is part of the exhibit. Spectators who watch TV or request a store catalog also earn $10 for the Snow City Arts Foundation, which brings arts education to hospitalized children.

The event is part art show, part showroom. Spectators on Thursday either checked out the furniture and grabbed an IKEA catalog, or asked where the bathroom was and where the couples would sleep.

The couples are using local bathrooms and can take breaks to shower and nap at home, Worling said. But at least one couple will always be in the tent.

The couples said their main goal was to raise funds for Snow City, although pocketing a $5,000 gift certificate for their efforts didn't hurt.

"This is part of our history together," Wolk said. "It's really important for couples to take chances and risks. This just happens to be in front of the media."

Neither couple wants to mimic reality TV. "I'm glad there are no tiki torches and no one gets voted out," McDowell said.

Wolk said she was a little embarrassed at first, like a kid speaking before a big class. She hoped to meet people to make the experience more intimate.

"Welcome to our home," she greeted Connie Gross and her son, Michael, 13, of Glenview.